Restaurants

Paris has always been a haven for high-rolling gastronomes who collect luxury restaurants like playing cards. That's still the case today. Whether you're looking for an opulent culinary experience or edgy, provocative cooking, Paris's range of quality restaurants -- from three-star restaurants to casual bistros -- remains unmatched by any other city in the world.

Although Paris has long been home to high-end gourmet restaurants, a growing number of affordable, high-end bistros serving gourmet food have entered Paris's culinary scene -- this is the bistronomy movement. For more than a decade now, chefs who have trained under three-star chefs have been leaving these "palace" restaurants to open more reasonably priced neo-bistrots, where you can get a three-course meal for about 30€ to 40€. Combining classic technique with an emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients, this new generation of chefs is revitalizing the culinary scene.

One important challenge remains, even at the informal bistro level: getting in. Paris restaurants tend to be small in size, and they rarely offer multiple seatings during a lunch or dinner service. The result is a smaller number of available seats, and these are often reserved in advance. Reservations are a very good idea at most of the restaurants we recommend, but you needn't worry about booking weeks in advance. The majority will have space if you call the same day or a few days in advance. Ask your hotel concierge to help if you can't manage the telephone, but don't shy away from this step if food is an important part of your Paris visit. The quality of what you can "stumble in" and find, versus what you can experience when you reserve, is radically different.

Can You Dine Badly in Paris? -- The answer is an emphatic yes. Our mailbox fills with complaints from readers who've encountered haughty service and paid outrageous prices for swill. Often, these complaints are about restaurants catering to tourists. Avoid them by following our suggestions or looking in nontouristy areas for new discoveries. If you ask Parisians for recommendations, specify that you're looking for restaurants where they would dine, not where they think you, as a tourist, would dine.

Price Categories

Very Expensive Main dishes 50€ and up

Expensive Main dishes 30€-50€

Moderate Main dishes 15€-30€

Inexpensive Main dishes Under 15€

Hours

Unless otherwise indicated (by a sign that reads service continue), Paris restaurants are usually open for lunch from noon2:30pm and dinner from 7:30 to 10:30pm. Cafés and brasseries are a good option if you need to eat a later lunch or earlier dinner.

Prices, Taxes and Tipping

Many visitors often experience sticker shock in Parisian restaurants. Three-star dining remains quite expensive, with appetizers sometimes priced at 60€ and dinners easily costing 185€ to 250€ per person in the top dining rooms of celebrated chefs. But, the influx of high-quality neo-bistrots has meant that there are many more affordable dining options in Paris today: The standard price for a very good bistro meal is 30€ to 40€ for three courses. Cafés offer sandwiches, soup, and salads in a relaxed setting. In a café, if you stand at the bar for a drink, coffee, or sandwich, prices are less than they would be if you were seated at a table.

However, you can get around these high price tags in many places by dining at lunch (when prices are always cheaper) or ordering a prix-fixe meal at lunch or dinner. In France, lunch (as well as dinner) tends to be a full-course meal with meat, vegetables, salad, bread, cheese, dessert, wine, and coffee -- lunch meals can be half the price of dinner, so we strongly recommend that you splurge at lunch. The prix-fixe (fixed-price) menu or le menu is a set meal that the chef prepares that day. It is most often fresh and promptly served, and represents a greater bargain than dining a la carte. Of course, it's limited, so you'll have to like the choices provided. Sometimes there are one to three menus, beginning with the least expensive and going up for a more elaborate meal. A lot depends on your pocketbook and appetite.

Remember that the price you see on the menu is the full price that you'll pay at the end of the meal. Although tax and service are "hidden costs" in American restaurants (they combine to add an additional 20%-30% to the final bill), in Paris, these costs are already included in the price of your meal. Service is almost always included in your bill. (If not, look for the words service non compris on your bill -- that means that the cost of service was not added, and you'll be expected to leave a tip.) Even when service is included, small tips are still appreciated, but your Parisian server earns a full salary and you don't need to leave more than 10%.

Reservations

Reservations are a necessary hurdle to overcome if you want to eat in the city's best restaurants. Travelers used to a more spontaneous approach are often surprised and disappointed when they show up without booking and are turned away. This has nothing to do with being a foreigner. It's simply that the restaurants here are relatively small, they don't offer multiple seatings throughout the night, and there's no bar where you can hang out and wait. If you haven't booked ahead, there may not be room at the table. Ask your hotel concierge to help if you're not comfortable making the call, or gather your courage and say "Bonjour. Je voudrais faire un reservation pour diner (dinner) or dejeuner (lunch). Vous parlez anglais?" At this point, they may switch to English if you are polite and they are capable. If not, have the French translation for your desired date and time ready and be ready to give your name (votre nom?) and the number of people (combien de personnes?) in your party. Having a reservation is crucial, and it will open up a world of authentic and memorable dining experiences. Paris by Mouth (www.parisbymouth.com) offers reservation services for a small fee.

Restaurant Deals

Open Table doesn't operate in Paris, but a local version called The Fork (www.thefork.com) offers online booking for some restaurants, and you can select to view the site in English. Not all of the restaurants we recommend in this chapter are listed on this site, but a few very good ones are, including the Plaza Athenée, Les Ambassadeurs, Goumard, Michel Rostang, The Cristal Room, Caïus, Olio Pane Vino, Fish, and La Régalade. A few restaurants offer discounts or a free drink if you book through this site.